"That will be more or less throwing batting practice to some guys," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It won't be anything other than that, throwing to hitters, some of our guys will get in there, right-handed and left-handed."

But it's a big step in the rehab process.

Lee has thrown off a mound three times, most recently a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday.

If all goes well Friday, Lee could progress to a rehab start and perhaps return to the big league rotation in July.

Brown back

Domonic Brown was back in the lineup Wednesday, batting seventh after being given the previous day off for "a little mental break," Sandberg said.

"I know that he wants to be more consistent with his at-bats," Sandberg said, "and have a better batting average and put together better contact through at-bats, throughout a game, and throughout a longer period of time. So I know that that's where he wants to be, so it's just about making some adjustments and applying it in the game."

Brown entered Wednesday's game batting .217 with a .594 OPS and five home runs in 288 plate appearances this season, statistics that rank among the worst in the league among starting outfielders. He was batting just .189 since April 27.

Brown was selected to his first All-Star game last season, when he hit .272 with a .818 OPS and 27 home runs in 540 plate appearances.

Sandberg didn't pull any punches when asked if Brown had been missing a lot of pitches that should be squared up.

"Yeah. It's not like, we talked about last year, him being an All-Star and maybe pitchers being aware of him, whatever it might be," Sandberg said. "But I see fastballs on both sides of the plate, I see elevated balls, I see balls that are swung underneath or fouled straight back. And that's what we're talking about, him making an adjustment to get on top of the ball."

Saturday's starter

The Phillies are likely to call up a pitcher from the minors to start one game of a doubleheader against the Braves on Saturday, Sandberg said. The organization expects to make a decision by Thursday.